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J. Pack. Sci. Technol. Vol. 5 No. 2 (1996)

The Packaging Industry in ASEAN

An d re w L e e S ie w L in g *

I I n t r o d u c t i o n

The Asia Pacific region has register the high-

est and fastest economic growth ra te in the

world in the past few year (see Table 1). This

has significantly impact the ASEAN packaging

industry. The total packaging market for the

ASEAN countr ies was about US$6.5 bi l l ion.

The characteristics of the packaging industry

in most of the ASEAN countries are towards

high growth rates, a strong domestic-orienta-

t ion and na t iona l / reg iona l marke ts .

This paper attempts to provide information of

members country of ASEAN. As many of thesecountries do not have detailed data for the

packaging industries, most of the data from

this paper are extracted from papers written by

participants that has taken part or have con-

tributed to the training carried out by the Pack-

aging Centre in Singapore. The paper will

cover first packaging R&D in this region, the

specific packaging industry, the general trend

and conclusion will be address at the end oft h i s p a p e r .

Table 1 Gross national product of countries in ASEAN

Year 1987 1988 1989 1 990 1991

Country Currency%

growthCurrency

%growth

Currency%

growthCurrency

%growth

Currency%

growth

SINGAPO RES'pore Dollar in

Million

42,636 10.20 49,998 17.20 56, 844 13.70 63,678 12.02 69,076 8.47

MALAYSIARinggit in Million

79,625 11.20 90,861 14.10 102,534 12.84 115,569 12.70 129,541 12.08

INDONESIARupiahs in Million

124,817 21.56 142,105 13.85 167,185 17.50 196,919 17.70 227, 186 15.40

THAILAN DBahts in Million

1,299,913 14.76 1,559,804 20.00 1,856,476 19.01 2,182,100 17.54 2,509,427 15.00

PH I LIPPIN ESPesos in Million

68 5, 068 12.50 802,519 17.14 925,161 15.30 1,070,900 15.75 1,244,037 16.20

JAPANYen in Thousand

Million348,425 4.10 371,428 6.60 396, 197 6.70 424,537 7.15 450,795 6.20

*Packaging Center, Singapore Institute of Standards & Industrial Research, 1 Science Park Dr., Singapore 0511

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1. Pressure Factors for the Packaging

Packaging in ASEAN, l ike the rest of the

world, is subjected to a wide array of pressures,

especially competitive pressures, environmen-

ta l pressure and pressures f rom new regula-

tions. These pressure arise from various fac-

t o r s a s f o l l o w s :

( a ) T h e c o n s u m e r p r o f i l e i n A S E A N h a s

changed drast ica l ly over the years .

ASEAN economic success has brought in

more wealth for their people and enhanced

their buying power and expectation. More

and more Asian consumers are demanding

quality and variety, product safety, hygiene

a nd nu t r i t i on . P r oduc e r s a r e now f a c e d

with the challenge of harmonizing modern

lifestyle with ethnic preference. With more

women entering the workforce changes in

lifestyle are inevitable. This leads to differ-

ent demands for packaging. For example,

Asian consumers are willing to pay extra

money for convenient packaging which are

e a sy to ope n a nd r e - c lo se , a nd c a n be

placed in a mic rowave oven . Many new

packaging design that are already available

or will be developed according to the con-

venience demand. In addition, people are

looking for variety of foods which are light,

low in calories, quick, or have other desir-

a b l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c .

(b) Cost remains the most important factor for

p a c k a g i n g i n d u s t r y

With the opening up of the borders and

be t te r communica t ion and t ranspor ta t ion

s y s t e m , A s i a n c o u n t r i e s h a v e c r e a t e d

remarkable market impact in Europe, USA

and Middle East. The packaging material

cost, logistic cost, have a great impact on

those manufacturers who export their prod-

ucts to faraway distance countries. There is

an urgent need for every Asian industry to

develop an ecological packaging design in

logistics to minimize the packaging mater-

ial cost and logistic cost.

( c ) E n v i r o n m e n t a l i s m

Environmental pressures aimed at the solid

waste problem originally stemmed from

two pr imary concerns ( i) the perceived

loss of land fill space and (ii) the damage

to the ozone layer caused by chlorinated

flouro-carbons (CFC's). Singaporeans gen-

erate over 2 million tonnes of solid waste

each year. If we separate our household

waste, more than 40% consists of paper,

plastic textiles, cans and glass which could

be r e use d o r r e c yc le d .

(d) Law and regulation which affects and will

affect the packaging industry

P a c k a g i n g l e g i s l a t i o n e s t a b l i s h e d i n

Europe and USA has affected the ASEAN

Packaging Industries as ASEAN products

transported to these countries must adhere

t o t h e s e l e g i s l a t i o n . T h e r e f o r e m a n y

ASEAN Industr ies have been forced to

switch from the current packaging design

to the new packaging design in terms of

the packaging material, labelling, bar cod-

i n g a n d s t r u c t u r e .

Packaging laws and regula t ions in the

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region are still in the development stage.

2. Current R&D Situation in Singapore

a n d A S E A N

M a n y r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t

done in ASEAN concentrated mainly on cost

reduction and environment friendly packaging.

Cost is the most important drive factor of R&D

in every industries. Every industry tr ies hard

to minimise their total packaging cost.

Total packaging cost is a combination of the

c os t s f o r m a te r i a l s , e qu ipm e n t ope r a t ions ,

labour and logistics. The packaging cost can

also include the cost of product recalls, failure

t o r e - p u r c h a s e b y c u s t o m e r s a n d c o s t o f

r e p a c k a g i n g . T h e r e a r e t w o a p p r o a c h e s t o

develop ecological packaging design. One is

the c onc e n t r a t ion on ind iv idua l pa c ka g ing .

P a c k a g i n g d e s i g n s s h o u l d m i n i m i z e t h e

a m oun t o f c onsum e r pa c ka g ing a s w e l l a s

t r a n s p o r t p a c k a g i n g .

2.1 R&D example of cost reduction for indi-

v i d u a l p a c k a g i n g

There are numerous R&D examples of effec-

t ive packaging reduc t ion e f for t s .

1) Glass containers today are typically manu-

factured with less material than was used

even as recently as ten years ago.2) Metal cans, particularly aluminium bever-

age cans, weigh less than they did in the

past .

3) Many products which formerly has several

layers of packaging now have only one with

m e t a l l i z i n g l a y e r .

4) Cost effective package for electronics prod-uct.

In Mitsubishi they are trying to modify the

product to withstand the shock and vibra-

t ion hazards in the distr ibution with less

damage, the result is in the packaging cost.

There are two examples; One is package of

an electrical heater and packaging for air-

c o n d i t i o n e r .

From these two examples we can see how

it is important for our product designer and

packaging designer to be aware that inte-

gra t ion of the packaging des ign in to the

function design and aesthetic design of the

p r o d u c t i s i m p o r t a n t .

Sony Japan has also make many efforts to

reduce the packaging for their electronics

products.

Another examples of cost reduction is mul-t ip le s lo t packaging des ign for the ha rd

disk dr ive . The new technologies deve l -

o p e d b y S I S I R ' s P a c k a g i n g C e n t r e c u t

S a nka w a ' s dow nt im e by 50% .

Multiple slot packaging is commonly used

in the local hard disk drive industry. Deter-

mining the acceleration value and indenta-

tion load deflection of Polyurethane result

in extra time and cost. SISIR's PackagingCentre deve loped the cushion curves for

the Sankawa packaging and save a t least

1 5 % i n m a t e r i a l c o s t s .

2.2 R&D example of cost optimization in

logistics

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T h e P a c k a g i n g I n d u s t r y i n A S E A N

The second approach in cost reduction is to

overview the entire logistic process to optimize

total cost in logistics. SISIR's packaging centre

has developed a window based software pack-

age COPS (Cost Optimization Packaging Sys-

tem) to help the companies minimise their dis-

tribution cost by optimizing space usage as well

as packaging materials. The software examines

all possible combinations of packing products

into their containers and then provides the user

with best solution to package the products.

COPS then optimizes both cost of packaging

materials and logistics cost so that the most

cost effective packaging arrangement can be

selected. COPS is extremely useful to person-

nel involved in sales budget estimation, prod-

uct design as well as logistics planning. COPS

is designed to be efficient and user friendly and

helps companies achieve greater profit max-

imisat ion without compromising packaging

material quality and operational efficiency.

2.3 Development of environmentally friendly

packaging for electric product

One of the most significant research and

development is the transport packaging design

using recyclable packaging material i.e. corru-

gated fibreboard paper instead of using expand-

ed polystrene form (EPS) because of the envi-

r o n m e n t a l p r e s s u r e .

SISIR's Packaging Centre has developed a

corrugated fibreboard cushioning to replace

the EPS cushion for video recorders. Based on

our experience, we developed a basic table of

the modula s tructure for corrugated board

cushioning and various cushion constructure to

pro tec t the v ideo recorder . Af te r eva lua t ion

tests, we have identified the most competitive

cushion des ign us ing cor ruga ted f ibreboard

c u s h i o n i n g .

It is most important that the proposed pack-

aging using corrugated board cushioning are

able to compete wi th ex is t ing packaging in

terms of technical requirements and cost sav-

ings. For a good cushion design the cushion-

ing must no t on ly possess func t ion for the

cushioning purpose but as well as on the pur-

pose of supporting the product. Due to the easy

moulding methods, the existing EPS cushion-

ing could easi ly sa t isfy both these functions

together. Creating a workable new corrugated

board cushioning that combines both the func-

tion seems more complicated than EPS cush-

ioning . However , the cor ruga ted cushioning

design could be divided into 2 parts, the con-

struction part and the cushion design part.

B e s i d e s t h e E g g t r a y , m o u l d e d p u l p a r e

enjoying strong growth especially for electron-

i c p r oduc t s w i th l i gh t w e igh t suc h a s F a x

m a c h i n e , v i d e o c a m e r a e t c . R e s e a r c h a n d

development is on its way to evaluate the cush-

ion pads in terms of the cushion dimension and

structure as there are no recognised method

t o d e s i g n m o u l d e d p a d s .

Overall, it appears that moulded pulp has the

potential to replace EPS foam. However mould-

ed pulp as a cushioning material is inappropri-

a te for the packaging of heavy produc ts or

produc ts exper ienc ing rough handl ing .

The shortage of forest in ASEAN is becom-

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ing another big environmental issue particu-

larly in China. To have new pallet to partially

replace the timber pallet is becoming a need.

Pallets made of corrugated fibreboard and

honeycomb and plastic have already developed

and used in the market .

SISIR's Packaging Centre has developed a

one way EPS pallet for a local company. The

designed strength of the pallet can sustain up

to 1 ton loading. This means that the corru-

gated pallet is used in one way plastics pallet

are mostly used in reuse cases. In Japan, some

plastic pallets have been in use for many years.

In Thailand, there will be a plastic pallet man-

ufacturer.

Many approaches have been proposed to

develop the environment friendly packaging by

1) requiring manufactures to "take back" used

p a c k a g i n g ,

2) banning of certain materials, usually plas-

t ics ,

3) requiring that packages be made of only

o n e m a t e r i a l ,

4) minimizing printing on packages,

5) requiring packaging to be made of recy-

clable or recycled material,

6 ) r e q u i r i n g p a c k a g e s t o b e m a d e o f

biodegradable mater ia l ,

7) adopting the ERA hierarchy of reduce,

reuse, recycle, incinerate, land fill, and

8) choosing package designs only after a life

cycle analysis of each package type.

Experience has shown that each of these

approaches have advantages and disadvan-

tages. Thus research and development are

under way to define "typical" systems which

are realistic enough that they can be used as

the basis for evaluation of packaging/disposal

decision or to define a more restrictive process

which can be used.

A new approach to reducing packaging in

consumer packaging is to sell refills of con-

centrates for certain products. For example,

concentrated refills are now available for sev-

eral types of laundry products. Some packing

uses gallon plastic bottles for the original pack-

age and simple packaging for refill.

With the development of metallizing coating,

a lot of solid packaging has been replaced and

will be replaced by the flexible packaging.

Lightweighting of all f lexible packaging is

be ing p r om ote d a s be ing e nv i r onm e n ta l ly

responsible, as is the idea of using a single

mater ia ls whenever possible for a complete

pack. If a single material pack is not possible,

then the next target is easy separation of con-

stituent element for recycling.

3. Future Packaging R&D in Singapore

a n d A S E A N

3.1 Computer models for shelf-life prediction

An article published in Tappi stated that,

"Approximately 50% of the food in third world

countries is rendered unusable due to lack of

proper packaging. There is an urgent need to

he lp food indus t r ie s to choose appropr ia te

packaging materials for the food products they

p r o d u c e d .

Research and development in SISIR is on the

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way to develop a computer model for shelf-life

prediction. This computer will provide a means

to pretest materials before actual storage test-

ing. In this computer program product, storage

parameters, packaging materials are entered

independently. The computer will provide a

combination of the product and packaging for

storage time and cost.

3.2 Source reduction: less waste in the first

p l a c e

Source reduction (a lso known as wastereduction, waste minimisation waste preven-

tion) is a term that describes the prevention of

waste at its source by using the minimum

quantities of materials necessary to achieve a

requi red func t ion .

In essence, source reduction is a form of

resource optimisation, i.e., making best use of

the resources required to produce the package.

Such an approach make sense not only for theenvironment, but also as a business strategy.

There are many tools available for imple-

menting Source Reduction procedures in pack-

age design and development.

Targeted distribution environmental mea-

surement should result in more appropriate val-

idation test of designs so the package can be

targeted toward the intended distr ibution

rather than some large, amorphous generictransport system. This is design only for what

the package is expected to see.

Damage Boundary Analysis offers the oppor-

tunity to more closely match the product's sen-

sitivity to shock input to that damage potential

created by each different type of cushioning

mater ia l or design, in response to a shock

input. Match the cushion design to the prod-

uc t s e ns i t i v i ty p r o f i l e .

Fini te e lement modell ing can be expected

some day to a l low the product designer to

assess each des ign ' s sens i t iv i ty to va r ious

dynamic inputs so that inherent strength can

be designed originally into the product rather

than rely on package design to supplement the

shor tcomings of the produc t .

V e r i f i c a t ion p r oc e dur e s ( suc h a s I S TA ,

ASTM, ISO) can result in more efficient pack-

ages being designed and implemented in much

shorter time frames with lower expected fail-

ure rates. Relying on performance definitions

opens the field of alternatives for the designer

to any number of materials and methods for

p a c k a g i n g h i s / h e r p r o d u c t s .

All of these will enable us to realize the true

value of Source Reduction opportunities. It can

be the driver for technology development, but

we have to resist the current Luddite atmos-

phere that positions packaging as the perfect

analogy for our wasteful, disposable society.

3.3 Life cycle analysis (LCA)

As a theory, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) would

seem to be the ideal approach in the selection

of the best packaging. An LCA evaluation iden-

tifies all inputs and effects involved in the man-

ufacture, use, and disposal of a particular prod-

uct, from cradle to grave. Alternative systems

for handling a container, such as reuse, dis-

posal after a single use, or recycling, can be

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specified and analyzed. The factors concerned

in LCA are: extraction of raw materials, con-

sumption of energy, emissions to air, emission

to water, emission to soil, pruduction of solid

waste. The result of an LCA is a vector of infor-

mation. For example, the amount of electrical

energy required to manufacture, use and dis-

pose of a package according to a specified

scheme can be estimated and compared to the

electrical energy required for several alterna-

tive. Unfortunately, the requirements for other

f o r m s o f e n e r g y , t h e a m o u n t o f m i n i n g

required in some other country, the amount of

oil or gas that will need to be imported, the

level of employment, and many other factors

may also be altered. The difficulty comes when

these different measures are compared to try

to determine the optimal selection. Currently,

there is no generally accepted system for mak-

ing the decision based on the effects on a vari-

e t y o f f a c t o r s .

In ASEAN Mitsubishi conducted LCA for

expanded polystyrene form (EPS) used in their

electronics appliance.

4. The need for Packaging R&D in

A S E A N

Packaging R&D in ASEAN is a combination

of technology transfer and technology innova-tion. Many packaging industries were chal-

lenged and will be challenged by the global

market, environment issue and legislation. The

packaging industries especially the industries

that export the product to different countries,

must carry out R&D project for your own prod-

ucts to continuously create new product and

packaging, which can live, survive and per-suade in different culture and environment

Last but not least, it is also important for

ASEAN packaging industries to take into con-

siderat ion our own natural resources. For

example; the vast forest in Indonesia could

bring many environmentally friendly packaging

for wine or tube form product. The skin of the

banana in Philipines could be reused again for

other product and even coconuts in Malaysiacould replace the EPS cushioning in the near

future.

I I S i n g a p o r e

1 . I n t r o d u c t i o n

Singapore consists of the island of Singapore

and some 58 islets within its territorial waters.

It is situated approximately 136.8 kilometres

north of the Equator. The main island is about

42 kilometres in length and 23 kilometres in

breadth, and 580.6 square kilometres in area.

It has a coastline of approximately 150.5 kilo-

metres. The total land area, including the islets,

is 639.1 square kilometres.

S i n g a p o r e ' s i m m e d i a t e n e i g h b o u r s a r e

Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, to the north

Sabah and Sarawak to the east) and Indonesia

to the south. Singapore is linked with Penin-

sular Malaysia by a 1,056-metre long causeway,

which carries a road, a railway and a water

pipeline across the Strait of Johor.

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T h e P a c k a g i n g I n d u s t r y i n A S E A N

1 . 1 C l i m a t e

The main features of Singapore climate are

relatively uniform temperature, high humidity

and abundant rainfall due to the maritime expo-

sure of the island and its close proximity to the

E q u a t o r .

The average daily temperature is 26.7C. The

mean maximum temperature of 30.8C occurs

in the afternoon, and the mean minimum of

23.8C just before dawn. November to January,

during the Northeast Monsoon, are generally

t h e c o o l e r m o n t h s .

Relative humidity often exceeds 90 per cent

at night and in the early hours of the morning

shortly before sunrise. On dry afternoons, it is

usually between 60 per cent and 70 per cent.

The average daily relative humidity is 84.4 per

c e n t .

Rain, failing all the year round, is most abun-

dant from November to January, the first half

of the Northeast Monsoon. July, during the

Southwest Monsoon, records the lowest aver-

age rainfall. Much of the rain falls in sudden

showers with rainfall of more than 50 millime-

tres a day occurring about nine times a year.

The annual rainfall is 2,359 millimetres.

Thunderstorms are frequent during the inter-

monsoon months of April-May and October-

November. The highest recorded wind speed

during a squall is 144 kilometres an hour.

1 . 2 P o p u l a t i o n

The resident population (of Singapore citi-

zens and permanent residents) at June 30, 1994

was estimate at 2,930,000. This represents an

increase of 2 per cent over that of the previous

y e a r .

1 . 3 E c o n o m y

The Singapore economy grew by 7.2 per cent

during the first quarter of 1995. This was large-

ly due to slower growth in the manufacturing,

c ons t r uc t ion a nd t r a nspo r t a nd c om m unic a -

tions sectors compared to the previous quar-

ter . However , the f inancia l an business ser-

vices, and commerce sectors grew faster.

The manufactur ing sector grew by 7.3 percent, down from 12 per cent a quarter ago. The

m a j o r i n d u s t r i e s r e c o r d e d m i x e d p e r f o r -

mances. Out put decl ined in the petroleum,

transpor t equipment, and paints and pharma-

ceutical industries by continued to grow in the

other key industries. The lower output in the

petroleum and pharmaceutical industries were

partly due to shutdowns of plants for mainte-

nance.

2. Packaging Industry Status

There are about 200 companies in the pack-

aging industry and the main segment of the

industry are, metal, corrugated paper/box and

p l a s t i c .

2.1 The paper packaging industry

This is a well established industry. There are

a total of approximately 60 companies that man-

ufac ture r paper , cor ruga ted box and paper ,

paper bags and paper carton box. In the cor-

rugated box there are 8 large manufacturers

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and 10 other smaller manufacturers that have

their own corrugator. Most of these companies

are part of the Corrugated Box Manufacturers

A s s o c i a t i o n .

A total of more than 3 thousand employees

were employed by this industry with an out put

o f a pp r ox im a te ly S $600 m i l l i on a nnua l ly .

2.2 Metal packaging industry

The metal packaging industry produced 2

piece cans, 3 piece cans, drums closure. There

are 12 tin plate can manufacturers with onecompany dominating 80% of the beverage mar-

ket. One company can produce 2 piece can.

Both thin plate and aluminium 2 piece can be

p r o d u c e d i n S i n g a p o r e .

All the raw material (both tin plate and alu-

minium) are imported. There are ll metal con-

tainers and drums manufacturers with 4 major

d r u m m a n u f a c t u r e r s s u p p l y t h e m a r k e t .

2.3 Plastic packaging industry

There are more than 80 companies produc-

ing plastic sheet, plastic film, plastic bag, sty-

rol foams, plastic bottles and containers. The

main player in the plastic industry are usually

part of a large group of companies. Most other

plastic companies are small and medium size.

Due to a large electronic industry present in

Singapore, there is a high demand for elec-tronic packaging. More than 30 companies are

supplying foamed shock absorbent material.

2.4 Wooden packaging industry

There a re about 16 companies supply ing

wooden boxes, packaging case and crates and

pallets to the industry. There is a strong push

recently for standardizing of the pallet size in

Singapore.

2 . 5 G l a s s i n d u s t r y

There are no glass industry in Singapore. All

t h e g l a s s c o n t a i n e r s a r e i m p o r t e d .

I I I M a l a y s i a


Malaysia comprises the Peninsular Malaysia,

Sabah and Sarawak. Thailand is to the north of

Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore is to the

south. The Straits of Malacca separate Suma-

tra of Indonesia from the south western part of

Malaysia Peninsula. Sabah and Sarawak is con-

nected to Kalimantan of Indonesia and is sep-

arated from Malaysia Peninsula by the SouthC h i n a S e a .

1 . 1 C l i m a t e

Malaysia lies entirely in the equatorial zone.

The climate is governed by the regime of the

nor th-eas t and south-wes t monsoons which

blow alternately during the course of the year.

The north-east monsoon blows from approxi-

mate ly mid November t i l l March , and the

south-west monsoon between May and Sep-

tember, the periods of change between the two

monsoons being marked by heavy rainfall. The

period of the south-west monsoon is a drier

period for the whole country, particularly for

the other states of the west coast of the Penin-

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sula, sheltered by the land mass of Sumatra.

Being in the tropics the average temperature

throughout the year is constantly high 26C or8 0 F .

1.2 Population and economy

The total population in 1995 is estimated at

19.95 million and is proposing to have a total

population of 70 million in year 2095 (based on

growth rate of 3.2). The last few years have

seen Malays ian ' s companies tak ing more

aggressive strategies to market their product.The GDP growth of the last years has been 8-

1 0 % .

2.Packaging Industry Status

T h e m a i n p a c k a g i n g m a t e r i a l u s e d i n

Malaysia are paper/paper board, metal, glass,

plastics and wood. The packaging industries

can be divided into:

2.1 The corrugated fibreboard industry

This is a well established industry. There are

about 46 corrugated box plants in Peninsular

Malaysia. The total capacity of the plants is esti-

mated to be in the range of 833,000 metric tons

but production is approximately 321,000 metric

t o n n e s .

2.2 Metal packaging industry

The metal packaging industries can be sub-

divided into the general line cans, the bever-

age cans and the steel drums.

The general line cans market is a very frag-

m e n te d m a r ke t w i th p r oduc t s r a ng ing f r om

sanitary cans for food i tems and other con-

sumer product such as aerosol and paint cans

with a large variety of sizes and specifications.

The estimated usage of general line cans by

the various sector is tabulated as follows: for

Confectionery a total of 400 tonnes, for Motor

Oil (all sizes) a total of 3,000 tonnes, for Paint

a total of 2,300 tonnes, for Edible Oil a total of

1,000 tonnes and for Aerosol a total of 1,000

t o n n e s .

The es t ima ted demand for sof t d r inks and

beer in 1993 is soft drinks 506 million cans, and

b e e r 3 6 0 m i l l i o n c a n s .

The steel drums in the Malaysia are mainly

for packing the following products; including

latex, edible Oil, oleochemicals, lubrication Oil,

paint, agro-Chemicals, flavours and fragrances,

and chemicals.

2 . 3 G l a s s

The Malaysia glass container industry main-

ly cater for the beer, soft drinks, pharmaceuti-

cal and chemical goods. The glass bottle has

f o u r m a i n t y p e s o f p r o d u c t s ; t h i s i n c l u d e

returnable glass containers, single trip bottle,

j a r s ( w ide m ou th ) a nd o the r s .

An estimated of about 60-70% of the produc-

t ion is for the domestic market whereas the

remaining 30-40% is being exported mainly to

E a s t a n d W e s t A s i a .

2 . 4 P l a s t i c s

In Malaysia, about 60-70% of the plastic man-

ufacturers are involves in the packaging Indus-

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try. The packaging comes in two forms:

i) Flexible includes bags, files, sheets and

l a m i n a t e d p l a s t i c s ,

ii) Rigid includes bottles, boxes, crates andd r u m s .

population comprises predominantly the Thai

people with about 6.7 million ethnic Chinese.

Other ethnic minorities include the Malays,

Laotians, Vietnamese, Khmers and hilltr ibes

p e o p l e .

I V T h a i l a n d


Situated in South-East Asia, Thailand has a

total land area of some 514,000 square kilome-tres, It is bordered to the west and north by

Myanmar, to the north-east by Laos and to the

south-east by Cambodia . Thailand extends

southward, along the isthmus of Kra, to the

Malay Peninsula, where it borders Malaysia.

Thailand extends 1,620 kilometres from north

to sourh and 775 kilometres at its widest from

east to west. It has a coastline of 2,400 kilo-

metres. The isthmus, shared with Myanmar,gives Thailand a short coastline on the Indian

Ocean, and the country also has a long Pacific

c o a s t l i n e o n t h e G u l f o f T h a i l a n d .

1.3 Economic Performance

In 1992, Thailand's economy grew 7.2 per-

cent, marginally lower than the growth rate of

7.9 per cent in 1992. Thailand's gross domes-

tic product (GDP) reached US$107.3 billion,

with a per capita GDP of US$1,800 in 1992.

Thailand's inflation rate was 4.1 per cent while

its unemployment rate was around 3 per cent

i n 1 9 9 2 .

Severa l f ac tor s has suppor ted Tha i land 's

strong economic growth in 1992. These factors

included the increase in private consumption

arising from personal income tax cuts, higher

export, and growth in investment especially in

the consumer goods, e lectronics and petro-

chemicals industries, and government spend-

i n g o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e .

1 . 1 C l i m a t e

Thailand's climate is generally tropical with

a high degree of humidity. There are three sea-

sons; hot (March to May), rainy June to Octo-

ber) and cool (November to February), The

mean temperature is around 30C (86F), vary-

ing from 23.7C to 32.5C (from 75F to 91F).


The population of Thailand was estimated at

around 59.4 million people in 1992. Thailand's


E c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t s i n T h a i l a n d h a s

st imulated the demand for packaging in the

past few years. Gross domestic product (GDP)

has shown double-digit growth rates between

1985 and 1991. From 1992 to recent years, the

growth rate is at 7 to 8 percent and this growth

rate is expected for the next 3 to 5 years. The

packaging industry has been growing in impor-

tance in Thailand. With more foods exported,

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the need for better design to compete in the

international market, the growing expectation

of consumer wi th more purchas ing power ,

changing lifestyles, tastes and preference has

all resulted in a higher demand for more con-

venient and sophisticated packaging. The total

number of packaging companies is about 1,600.

The majority of these companies are small and

medium size. The four main segments in the

packaging industry are the paper, the plastic,

t h e m e t a l a n d t h e g l a s s i n d u s t r y .

2.1 The paper industry

The paper industry companies of about 300

companies. About 70 percent can be consid-

ered as small scale manufacturer. The majori-

ty of the manufacturers (about 160) produce

corrugated boxes. The number of cardboard

box manufacturer is approximately 120. Large

users of multi-layer bags such as the cement

industry and feed mills usually have in-house

production facilities. The single layer-bag is

mainly used in re ta i l s tores.

There are about 12 big manufacturers of cor-

rugated boxes that have corrugator. In 1992,

they produced about 660 thousand tons of cor-

rugated board and 560 thousand tons was used

for their own production and the remain are

sold to other manufacturers. There are about

10 large and medium size cardboard box man-

ufacturers. Their production volume is usually

smaller than the large corrugated box manu-

f a c t u r e r .

Raw material is supplied by 41 paper mills.

About 4 of these mills supply the paper for

cardboard boxes. 3 pulp mills produce short

fibre pulp.

2.2 Metal packaging manufacturer

The main product of metal packaging indus-

try is can. Both 2 piece and 3 piece can are

manufactured in the industry. Other metal

packaging produc t inc lude drums, tubes ,

aerosols , caps and foi l .

There are two companies that make tin plate,

Siam Tin plate Co. Ltd. and Thai Tin plate

Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Special alloys and alu-

m i n u m a r e i m p o r t e d .

There are about 140 metal packaging manu-

facturers. Approximately 13 are large can man-

ufacturers. Two manufacturer currently make

aluminum beverage can. About 8 larger pro-

ducer of canned food make their own cans.

2.3 Glass packaging manufacturer

90 percent of the glass packaging are bottles.

The remain 10 percent are mainly for jars.

Most of the glass manufactured are for the

l o c a l m a r k e t .

Glass packaging manufacturing is the oldest

of the four packaging manufacturing segments.

There are 5 major glass bottle manufacturers

with a total capacity of around 750 thousand

t o n s a y e a r .

2.4 The plastic industry

The plastic industry provide a wide range of

products. In the flexible form, products include

plastic film, bags and woven sacks. In the more

rigid form products include foam containers,

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p la s t i c bo t t l e s a nd c ups .

P l a s t i c p a c k a g i n g m a n u f a c t u r i n g i s t h e

youngest and most rapidly expanding industri-

a l segment . The cur ren t number of p las t ic

packaging manufacturers exceeds 1300. About

70 percent are small scale manufacturers, with

less than 500 tons of production capacity per

year. The 28 larger manufacturers of bags pro-

duces bags and envelopes for export (around

65 thousand tones a year). The 12 styrofoam

manufacturers have a total capacity of 4,500

tons a year. Many plastic packaging manufac-

turers produce plastic products for other pur-

poses as well. Manufacturers of styrofoam also

make car parts and other insulation material.

Manufacturers of shopping bags also produce

freezer bags and bags for garbage can and

some bottle manufacturers also make plastic

p l a t e s a n d t o y s .

V I n d o n e s i a


Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast

Asia, both in population and in area. It is also

the largest archipelago in the world, consisting

of more than 13,000 islands stretching in a

rough crescent for 5,500 ki lometres. These

islands form a crossroad between two ocean -the Pacific and Indian Ocean, and a bridge

between two continents - Asia and Australia.

1 . 1 C l i m a t e

The total land area of the Republic of Indone-

sia is approximately 1.9 million square kilome-

tres, while total land and sea area is about 9.8

m i l l i on squa r e k i lom e t r e s .

Indonesia has a tropical climate, which is

greatly influenced by mountains and the sea.

The lowlands have high humidity, moderately

high temperatures ranging from 20 to 30C,

feeble sands a few kilometres from the sea, and

ra infa l l ave raging more tha t 1 ,000 mi l l ion

m e t r e s a y e a r .


Indonesian has a population of about 184 mil-

lion people in 1992, making in the fifth most

populated country in the world.

1 . 3 E c o n o m y

T h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r i s p l a y i n g a n

increasingly important role in the Indonesia

economy. It accounted for 19.5 per cent of the

GDP in 1990 as compared to 12 per cent in

1982. The industrialisation strategy adopted by

the Indonesia government in the early stages

of development was directed towards import

substitution and employment creation. Tariffs

and non-tariff barriers were erected to protect

the domestic industries. This has resulted in a

"high cost economy" and lack of international

competitiveness suffered by much of Indone-

s ia ' s manufac tur ing indus t ry .

Indonesia's manufacturing sector produced avast range of products. Most consumer goods

such as processed foods and beverages, tobac-

co products, textiles and garments, motor vehi-

cle components and assemblies and electrical

appliances are produced by the private sector,

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Tlte Packaging Industry in ASEAN

often in joint ventures with foreign companies.


Packaging Industry in Indonesia has grown

rapidly in recent years. The rapid growth in

agriculture and industry is one important point

that cause the rapid growth in packaging indus-

try. Fast expansion of supermarkets , depar t-

mental s tores and shopping malls is quickly

changing the traditional and economic growth,

the demand for a better living standards has

also brought an increasing demand for pack-

a g i n g .

There are approximately 250 significant pack-

aging manufac ture r s and about 500 smal le r

ones in Indonesia. Except for a few food com-

panies which have their own integrated food

packaging, generally the packaging industry is

separated from the food industry. In addition,

most of the food packaging industry are not

specialized in food packaging, they also make

other kind of packaging. The packaging indus-

try in Indonesia can be divided into five kinds

of packaging indus t r ie s , namely the p las t ic

packaging industry, the paper board packaging

industry, glass packaging industry, metal pack-

aging indus t ry and ju te packaging indus t ry .

2.1 The plastic packaging industry

About 125 companies are producing plastic

packaging with a total annual production capac-

ity of 280,000 tons. This industry can be sub-

d iv ide d in to th r e e c a t e go r i e s :

i)The flexible packaging industry like

lami-

nates, f i lms and bags,

ii) Rigid packaging like bottles, drums and

j e r r y c a n s ,

i i i ) W o v e n b a g s .

2.1.1 The flexible packaging industry

The development of flexible packaging indus-

try in Indonesia began in 1977. Currently, there

are 43 companies in the flexible packaging. Out

of the 43 companies, 2 companies are foreign

investment, 9 companies are domestic invest-

ment and 32 companies are Nonfacility or local

i n v e s t m e n t .

For some specialized flexible packaging, the

Indonesian still needs to import some finished

products and raw material to meet it's needs.

2.1.2 Rigid packaging

The annual capacity for rigid packaging is

90,000 tons, and there are four major produc-

ers of rigid plastic packaging.

2.1.3 Woven bags industry

There are approximately 66 manufacturers

for woven bags with an annual production of

1 0 5 , 0 0 0 t o n s .

2.2 The paper and paper board industry

Currently there are 70 companies producing

corrugated carton box with a total licensed

capacity of 596,965 tons annually. Out of the 70

companies, 3 companies are foreign invest-

ment, 26 companies are domestic investmentand 41 companies are local investment.

Box kraft liner and medium paper which are

used as the raw material for the corrugatedb o x e s i s 5 - 7 % .

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/ P a c k . S c i . T e c h n o l . V o l . 5 N o . 2 ( 1 9 9 6 )

2.3 The glass packaging industry

The main products of glass packaging which

are consumed by food packaging industry are

bottles. In the last three years, it seems that

there is no growth in the bottle industry. The

total production is 145,000 tons/year. There

are 12 companies producing glass bottle. Not

much glass bottles are imported.

In terms of market share, beverages share

65% and other food products such as edible oil,

fruits, vegetables share 15% of the market.

2.4 The steel packaging industry

The total annual capacity of steel packaging

product is about 150,000 tons and there are

approximately 50 companies in this industry.

There piece cans represent the major output of

the steel packaging industry (80% of the vol-

ume).

For 2 piece beverage cans, the total usage of

aluminum is estimated at 13,300 tons. There is

a trend for more aluminium to be used for var-

ious food products such as beverages, sea-

f oods , f ood t r a ys e t c .

V I P h i l i p p i n e s


The Philippines is an archipelago of approx-imately 7,107 islands scattered over an area of

about 300,000 square kilometres. It is bounded

by the South China Sea in the west, the Pacif-

ic Ocean is the east, the Sulu and Celebes Seas

in the south, and the Bashi Channel in the

north. Collectively, the islands stretch north-

ward to 241 kilometres south of Taiwan and

southward to 14.4 kilometre off Borneo.

1 . 1 C l i m a t e

The country enjoys a year-round tropical cli-

mate generally characterise by warm days and

cooler evenings. The climate year is divided

into three predominant seasons-rainy from July

to October, cool and dry from November to

February, and hot and dry from March to May.

The average temperature is 27C, with the

average humidity at 77 per cent.The northern part of the archipelago is in the

direct path of tropical storms and typhoons,

which are prevalent during the rainy season.

The southern part has a milder climate and is

seldom affected by tropical storms.

The average rainfall is 305 centimetres.


The Philippines has an estimated populationof 64.3 million in 1992, primarily of Indo-Malay,

Chinese and Spanish descent. The annual pop-

ulation growth rate is about 3 per cent.

The population density is 210 inhabitants per

square kilometre, with 13 per cent of the total

population living within the Metro Manila area.

About 57 per cent of the population live in rural

areas.

1 . 3 E c o n o m y

The Philippines economy is organised basi-

cally around light industry and agriculture,

with the processing of agricultural products

accounting for the largest share of the manu-

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f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r .

The Philippines economy has a number of

problems that resulted from mismanagement

of the country's resources in the early 1980s.

However, the present government under Pres-

ident Fiel V Ramos is geared towards securing

economic recovery in the short term and sus-

tainable growth in the long run. A key strate-

gy is to encourage investments and to make

Philippines export products more competitive

in the world market. Agriculture, including

employment-generating domestic and export

industries, has also been given more attention.

The Philippines' real Gross National Product

(GNP) registered a marginal growth of only

0.04 per cent in 1991. For 1992, the GNP was

officially estimated to have grown by 0.6 per

c e n t . H ow e ve r , t he c oun t r y ' s r e a l G r oss

D o m e s t i c P r o d u c t ( G D P - w h i c h e x c l u d e s

inc om e f r om a b r oa d ) r e g i s t e r e d ne ga t ive

growth of -0.7 per cent and -0.4 per cent in

1991 and 1992 respectively. The poor perfor-

mance of the economy was due to fiscal tight-

ening by the government, drought problems

which hit the agricultural sector and serous

deterioration in the power shortfall in the man-

u f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r .

After two years of economic stagnation, some

economic analysts expect the Philippines econ-

omy to pick up by the end of 1993 with growth

of around 1 per cent in 1993. For 1994, the

economy is expected to grow by around 3 per

cent (data has yet been published).


The Phi l ipp ines i s ma in ly an agr icu l tura l

country so its primary products are the farm

product. The packaging industry can be divid-

e d i n t o f o u r m a i n s e c t o r s , t h e y a r e t h e

paper/paper board having approximately 45%

of the packaging marke t , me ta l packaging

about 20%, glass about 18%, plastic about 15%

and other packaging such as bamboo basket,

wooden crates... etc, make up the remaining

2 % .

2.1 The paper and paper board industryRaw material of the paper and paper board

manufacturer are largely locally available. Only

very few manufacturers choose to import their

raw material for higher quality paper.

2.2 The meta l industry

Tin can are more widely used in Philippines

than aluminium can. Raw materials of metal-

based packaging come only from one source.Importation of tin plates is restricted, however,

companies whose products are to be exported

are allowed to import certain amount of tin

p l a t e .

2 .3 T he g la ss industry

Glass bottles and jars are still widely used.

The largest supplier of glass conta iners in

Philippines is San Miguel Corporation which is

also the largest packaging manufactures in the

country with also its own packaging manufac-

tur ing capabil i ty in corrugated, plast ic and

metal packaging.

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2.4 The plastic industry

Plastic packaging has been growing in the

Phil ippines. Polyethylene leads among the

other plastic packaging materials in import.

Other major plastic resins imported include

polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate and

s o m e P V C .

Domestic production of synthetic resins has

mainly been a secondary source of raw mate-

rials for the packaging and plastic industry.

VII Trend of Packaging in ASEAN

The region has diverse cultures and wide

ranging economic profiles. In the past few

years, the economy of the ASEAN has all

grown at a very rapid speed. This growth has

both stimulated the growth of the packaging

industry as well as created certain challenges

for the industry. A summary of tables showing

comparision between the ASEAN countries are

attached (Table 2 - Table 7).

The consumer profile of the ASEAN coun-

tries has changed drastically over the years.

Increasing disposable income and opening up

of geographical boarders have created remark-

able market optimism in all economic classes.

The consumers now demand quality and vari-

e ty, product safe ty, hygiene and nutr i t ion.

Three main factors will continue to influence

t h e d e v e l o p m e n t t r e n d o n p a c k a g i n g i n

A S E A N .

1 . C o s t

Table 2 Land size of countries in ASEAN

Land sizeSize ofcountryCountry

(sq/km)compared toSI NGAPO RE

SINGAPORE 633 1

MALAYSIA 330,434 522

INDONESIA 1,919,443 3,032

THAILAND 514,000 812

PHI LIPPINES 300,000 474

JAPAN 377,815 597

Table 3 Number of packaging companies in ASEAN

CountryNumber ofpackagingcompanies

SINGAPORE 200+

MALAYSIA

INDONESIA 750+

THAILAND 1600+

PHILIPPINES

Table 4 Number of glass companies in ASEAN

CountryNumber of

glasscompanies

SIN GAPO RE 0

MALAYSIA 3+

IN DO NESIA 12

THAILAND 5

PH ILI PPINES 7+

Table 5 Number of plastic packaging companies in ASEAN

CountryNumber of plastic

packagingcompanies

SIN GAPO RE 80+

MALAYSIA

IND ONESIA 125

THAILAND 1 300+

PHILI PPINES 7+ (Flexible)

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Table 6 Number of metal packaging companies in ASEAN

Country

Number of metal

packagingcompanies

SINGAPO RE 12

MALAYSIA 11+

INDONESIA 50

THAILAND 13+

PHILIPPINES 17+

Table 7 Number of corrugated / paper packaging

companies in ASEAN

Country

Number ofcorrugated /

paper packagingcompanies

SINGAPO RE 60

MALAYSIA46+ (Corrugated box

and carton)

INDONESIA70 (Corrugated box

and carton)

THAILAND 300

PHILIPPINES

In spite of increased purchasing power, cost

remains the single important factor for selec-

tion. Consumers demand quality and appeal in

packaging, however, if the packaging cost is

too high compared to other available alterna-

tive, the consumer usually is not willing to pay

f o r t h e e x t r a c o s t .

2 . Packaging Appeal

With the improved purchasing power, more

choices available, the new distribution net-

works and international competi t ions, con-

sumers are becoming more discriminating in

selection of products. Packaging design and

layout that can appeal to the consumer will con-

tinue to win in the competitive market.

3. Environmental Friendly

Mor e a nd m or e c onsum e r s a r e c onc e r ne d

w i t h t h e p o s s i b l e p r o b l e m o f e n v i r o n m e n t

waste. Although currently not the main factor

a f f e c t i n g d e v e l o p m e n t o f p a c k a g i n g t r e n d

ASEAN, it is definitely a factory that cannot be

ignored in tomorrow's packages in this region.

VIII Specific Packaging Trend

Glass and metal packaging will grow but at

a slower rate. Plastic packaging showed a up

trend and will continue to challenge glass and

metal packaging. Paper packaging will contin-

ue to grow in their localized region. Recently,

due to a continued increase in the price of raw

material for paper, it had hamper the growth

o f c e r t a i n p a p e r i n d u s t r y .

More and more plastic film and container are

seen in the market and the growth of plastic

continue to be good. Pressure will be on reduc-

ing the wastage of packaging materials. More

recycling and reused packaging will be expect-

ed. Pressure will also be on packaging manu-

facturers to reduce the amount of packaging

m a te r i a l u se d f o r pa c ka g ing .

R e f e r e n c e

1) Various country paper prepared by countries

participants on packaging industries status of

t h e i r o w n c o u n t r i e s

2) Investment opportunities study for packaging

m a nuf a c tu r ing in Tha i l a nd

3) Singapore fact and pictures

4) Economic Survey-Trade and Development

B o a r d , S i n g a p o r e(Received 5 December 1995)

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